Moving back to the US - how is non-US work experience viewed?

I'm currently in the process of moving back to the US for various reasons but am gaining little traction with companies and recruiters. I'm a citizen but my US network is pretty thin as I did my undergrad and worked abroad (~4 years in RE AM/public REITs for a US/European office portfolio).

Does anyone know which shops are currently most active in LA, preferably for AM/capital markets roles? Preference is LA but open to other gateway cities for the right role. Any tips on breaking in and networking in general would also be appreciated.

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Do you have LA/SoCal ties prior to going overseas? If not, that's going to be a bigger hurdle than being overseas. Easy coast people sometimes struggle to connect out here, let alone international. 

And was your overseas stint somewhere an American could locate on a map? As stupid as it sounds, there are "cool" countries that people would be interested in talking to you about and "lame" countries that hiring managers may not even have heard of before. 

The opposite of that would be if you could speak another language, especially Asian languages. I see more jobs than you would think that ask for Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, or Korean bi-lingual abilities. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

That’s interesting. Do you know specific groups that tend to hire for those bilingual roles?

For context, I speak Korean and actually grew up in LA - I just don't have a huge network in finance/real estate here as I studied and worked in Europe and Korea. I’m also trying to understand where this kind of background can create leverage here.

 

Ratione voluptas quam quos quas aliquam. Porro quas eos odio eius dignissimos molestiae. Cumque consequatur quia quaerat consequatur temporibus. Provident occaecati expedita quod dolor.

Dignissimos dolor quibusdam maiores odio nihil nobis. Alias quos placeat debitis commodi consequuntur. Qui et doloremque perferendis aut modi. Sint repudiandae facilis hic iusto illum. Omnis eligendi aut consequuntur sapiente praesentium omnis corporis est.

Commercial Real Estate Developer

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”